NCAA

Codinera says Salado now Arellano’s ‘heart and soul’

Norman Lee Benjamin Riego on Jul 08, 2017 08:33 PM

MY TIME IS NOW. Kent Salado has now entrenched himself as the emotional leader of Arellano.

Arellano University is still winning even without Jiovani Jalalon for the first time since 2014.

That is, after one game in the NCAA 93 Men’s Basketball Tournament, at least.

Still, the victory versus Mapua University showed that the Chiefs still had more than enough to make noise in the tournament.

Much of that had to do with new High Chief Kent Salado who collected a game-high 24 points on top of seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals. “Si Salado, he’s really the heart and soul,” head coach Jerry Codinera expressed.

Indeed, the fourth-year guard has not only taken the wheel of the Arellano bus, but has also entrenched himself as their emotional leader. “Sa akin lang, para magawa ko yung ginagawa niya (Jalalon), focus lang ako sa laro,” he said.

And so, with the Cardinals still hanging around inside the last six minutes, Salado regrouped his troops and spearheaded what turned out to be their decisive 11-0 run.

As it turns out, the Chiefs were only more than willing to follow their new leader. As Codinera put it, “Siyempre, kung si Salado lang, he cannot do it alone. Kailangan niya ng support ng mga other players.”